Read this over at Multiply and I’m posting it now here with permission and high hopes that I’d be able to join.

The Writing’s On The Wall – The Writing Salon Goes to Intramuros, Manila

Forget rainy Boracay for now, The Writing Salon has moved to Intramuros instead!

Let’s allow the intriguing and historic walled city of Manila to fuel our writing and spark our genius for three inspiring days. Join renowned American performance poet James Nave, and local performance artist extraordinaire Carlos Celdran for The Writing Salon at Intramuros. Come to energize writing, spark creativity and engage with other writers like yourself. Enjoy nine workshops spread over three delightfully collaborative days. Each day starts at the Miramar Hotel. The writing adventure unfolds throughout the day with workshops writing exercises, and interaction within Intramuros. The weekend is culminated in a workshop and tour of the walled city. The three-day event starts after lunch on Friday and ends on Sunday afternoon, October 7-9, 2005.

Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys are now available at Fully Booked, which has become my favourite bookstore ever since they bought in Neil for a signing a couple of months ago. And, at the risk of sounding like an advert, FB has the most interesting selection of books; if you have to go to only one bookstore in Manila, make sure it’s this one.

Excuse the giddiness. I finally have a copy of Anansi Boys! It’s a limited edition, meaning if you buy one now, you may also get a letter from Neil which will be inserted in your copy at the cashier’s. I have letter no. 158 of 1000 and, if I ever feel unscrupulous enough, I might put it up on e-Bay, but… I won’t. Hee.

It’s only the first chapter and I’m already smiling and chuckling softly at witty parts. I hope I don’t finish it overnight as I did Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince…

If you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t think it was even there.

I’ve heard about this new bookstore from friends called Booktopia. I wasn’t really interested in it, actually; it was in Libis and Libis isn’t the easiest place to go to if you don’t have a car. Commuting from Poject 8 would be quite tedious and taking a cab is expensive.

However, my interest perked up when I found out that they can special order books for you. I’m just 3 books short of a mystery series I’m collecting and I’m getting tired of scouring through every Booksale branch. I emailed them with my order, and a week after, I get a reply with the cost of each book (shipping cost included) and when their next shipment will be. Elated, I went to Libis to pay for my downpayment.

It’s on the same side as the Eastwood entrance, before Citibank, if you’re coming from Makati. It’s in the same building as Pizza Hut, and as I said earlier, the store itself is hard to spot if you didn’t know it’s there. The building is pretty plain, but once you get inside their store, you’re in book heaven.

The store is what you’d like your bookstore to be: books shelves filled with books of differnt titles (unlike other bookstores where they fill the shelves with books of the same title), comfy seats and coffee tables, and soft music that won’t distract you from the book you’re reading (I didn’t even mind that they were playing Christmas songs). While their prices may be slighty higher than the other bookstores in Metro Manila, they also have a section for pre-owned books in fairly good condition.

There were only 2 Booktopia staff when I went there, and neither one of them followed me around like the pesky salesperson in other stores. While other bookstores put up “No private reading” signs, Booktopia encourages their patrons to “Keep reading.”

I picked up a pre-owned Secret Garden book by Frances Hodgson Burnett and brought it to the counter. While waiting for the sales assistant to write up the invoice, the friendly supervisor (I think he’s the supervisor) chatted with me. One of the books I ordered is out of stock, and he promised that once their supplier has it in stock, he’d text or call me. How’s that for service?

I don’t know if all the Booktopia books have this, but when I opened my book when I got home, there was a Booktopia bookmark inserted just inside the cover. Just how cute is that?

Enjoy a selection of 10 movies on drama, romance, action, and comedy from different Asian countries for free! It’s the 1st Asian Center Film Festival from September 26 to October 1 at the Asian Center in UP Diliman.

For more information contact the Asian Center in UP Diliman at 927-0909.(more…)

My business partner told me that there have been raids in their area of computer shops that were using unlicensed software.

A search for relevant news items at the inq7.net website produced surprising results.

(UPDATE) LAW ENFORCEMENT agencies are denying that they have started conducting raids on Internet cafes and computer shops after a September 15 deadline set as part of an anti-piracy campaign expired.

There have been unconfirmed reports of raids being conducted by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Optical Media Board (OMB), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in some provinces and cities outside Metro Manila.

Well it’s actually from the French Baker (not “a” French Baker mind you). These dinner rolls are topped with butter, cheese and sugar after it is freshly baked. It’s absolutely wonderful with a hot cup of coffee on a rain soaked afternoon.(more…)

Manila Bay, AgainMigs Bassig Hi Udayan. Yes, Manila remains a crowded place, what with even more and bigger malls. But the sunset will...Udayan Tripathi I went to Manila in 1997 and remember very little of, patches of crowded city life and shopping at...